17 October 2019

Skincare Essentials: How to Set Up A Skincare Routine

Alina Ceusan # Articles # Beauty # Skin care

Girls, today I want you to welcome Andreea Bitar in our online community, our newest beauty editor at alinaceusan.net. Andreea will keep you updated with all the latest news in the Beauty industry and today she’ll tell us how to create your daily skin care routine. We already know that skin care routine is so important and I think it is important to inform our adolescents and educate our women to choose the right products for their skin type but also to know how to use them correctly for results. optimal: that is, a flawless complexion, which does not need a foundation, right? Andreea, all yours.

Part 1: Daytime Routine

There’s been a lot of buzz around clean skincare, Korean beauty products, topical actives and so on for years, so it’s safe to say the new wave of skincare is here to stay. Although there is a lot (lot!) of useful online content on the topic, there is also confusion, so let us start by answering the question: Why do we even need a daily skincare routine?

Skin is our largest organ. We are covered in approximately 2 square feet of skin which weighs around 3-4 kilos alone. Every centimeter of our skin confines millions of cells. Moreover, our skin gets firsthand exposure to everything that’s going on daily: sunlight, dust, pollution, make-up, fragrance, stress, sweat and tears… So, in turn, our skin acts like a shield against negative external factors, protecting us from infection, radiation, free radicals and more. Keeping this barrier in balance implies a complex cellular regeneration process through which our skin goes every day. A simple and effective routine is the least we can do to help our skin fight against the above, while also keeping it healthy and beautiful.

If you had to wear one single clothing item for the rest of your life, how much care would you put into keeping it good-looking? Your skin is the best outfit you’ll ever wear and you want it to stay that way.

It is important to understand that cell turnover slows down with age, our natural collagen production will not be as bountiful in our thirties as it is in our twenties, our skin will not keep its plump and glow as time goes, and that’s okay. All of it is part of our lifecycle and a good skincare routine will keep you well, as much as a healthy diet and exercise will. Embrace it and look your best.

Consistent care for your skin will speak for you as much as a healthy diet and proper exercise will.

Once you’ve committed to the idea of a skincare regimen, you’ll need to understand your skin’s needs in order to choose the right products. There is consensus on four main skin types: normal, dry, oily and combination. But, as you may already know, each skin comes with special characteristics that are outside of the four templates, or in between them, like sensitivity, acne tendencies, dry patches, allergic responses to certain cosmetic ingredients etc.

Your skin may go through changes, mild or major, depending on your life experiences. Pregnancy, long periods of stress/burnout, relocating to a country with a drastically different climate, anything and everything can impact the look and feel of your skin.

What this means is that your face might never fit perfectly in one of the four templates. For instance, dry skin doesn’t have to be sensitive, while acne-prone, oily skin may. And oily skin is not necessarily acne-prone. If you have oily skin, but no blemishes, there is no point in using acne treatments, but rather focus on ways to control your sebum production (which we will talk about in a future post).

Let’s get to the routine! If it is your first time compiling a skincare routine, the best thing you can do is start simple and stick to the essential steps. Once you feel comfortable with your base routine, you can start adding new stuff.

Your morning routine should be focused on gentle cleansing and sun protection, whereas your night routine should be more about make-up removal and cleansing (stile gentle!), along with treating and/or applying your anti-aging products.

It is highly recommended to use sunscreen, a minimum of SPF 30, all year round, especially if your routine includes chemical exfoliators, vitamin C and other topical actives.

Most of these topical actives are highly photosensitive and, without sun protection, you may get the exact opposite of what you’re expecting. More about that soon. Just use the sunscreen.

Morning routine

Step 1: Gentle Cleanser

Morning cleansing should be all about gently removing excess sebum and overnight sweat or dust from your sheets/hair (given that you’ve thoroughly removed your make-up the night before). This goes for all skin types. With cleansers, the smaller the ingredient list, the better. What you want is effective, yet gentle cleansing, so as to not tamper with your natural skin barrier. Keep an eye out for fragrance (you don’t need that in your cleanser) and you may want to avoid denatured alcohol (alcohol denat).

Here are a couple of generically suitable gentle cleansers for you to explore.

Ivatherm Ivahidra+ Emollient Cleansing Gel

Balea Gentle Cleansing Gel (DM stores)

CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser

La Roche Posay Toleriane Face Wash

Bioderma SensiBio Gel Moussant

COSRX Low PH Good Morning Cleanser

Step 2: Toning (optional)

Toning is historically known as that „extra-cleaning step”, usually associated with an alcohol-infused magic water that „shrinks” your pores and mattifies your skin. You don’t want that, what you may want, instead, is a hydrating toner. In Korea, toners go by the name of „second skin”, their purpose being setting up a hydrating base after cleansing, for all the steps to come.

Toning is entirely up to you, however you might see it as a game changer if you find yourself in one of the situations below:

You have very dry skin and your daily moisturizer is not enough.
You have dehydrated skin (you feel your skin extra tight, just like you used to feel it after using an alcohol-based toner).
You have acne-prone and sensitive skin (you experience redness, stinging, dehydration and flakiness).
You have oily skin and need a lightweight hydrator, especially during summer time.

Pro Tip: Hydrating toners are best applied on damp skin.

Recommendations

Hada Labo Gokujyun Premium Hyaluronic Acid Toner

Mebika Hydrating Moist Lotion

Paula’s Choice Resist Advanced Replenishing Toner

Paula’s Choice Skin Recovery Enriched Calming Toner 

Step 3: Chemical Exfoliation (morning or night)

We’ve mentioned earlier cell turnover – here is where chemical exfoliators come in. What they do is penetrate the pores and help the skin in eliminating dead cells, excess sebum and dirt. The two major players in chemical exfoliation are the AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids) and the BHAs (beta hydroxy acids).

There are many acids pertaining to the AHA family, some of the more popular ones being the lactic, glycolic, and mandelic acids. AHA acids provide a gentle exfoliation, so they are suitable for dry and/or sensitive skin types.

The BHA class is represented by salicylic acid, and this exfoliation option works better for oily and/or acne-prone skin types.

Why use a chemical exfoliator? Long term use of AHAs and/or BHAs have shown great results in improving skin tone, helping with hyperpigmentation, melasma and enlarged pores, while BHA-based products have worked great on acne-prone skin.

Chemical exfoliators need to be gradually inserted in your routine. Start by using it two times a week and then work your way up, as you feel comfortable.

AHA exfoliating solutions:

Paula’s Choice Resist Weekly Resurfacing Treatment 10% AHAResist Weekly Resurfacing Treatment 10% AHA

Paulas’s Choice Resist Advanced Smoothing Treatment 10% AHA

The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10% + HA

The Ordinary Glicolic Acid 7% Toning Solution

The Inkey List Glicolic Acid Tone

Loțiuni Exfoliante BHA

The Ordinary Salicylic Acid 2% Solution

COSRX BHA Blackhead Power Liquid

Paula’s Choice Calm 1% BHA Lotion Exfoliant

Paula’s Choice Skin Perfecting 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant

Step 3: Moisturizing

Moisturizing is important for all skin types. If you have acne-prone skin and you deprive yourself from any moisturizing, your acne will only act worse. There is a moisturizing product out there for every type of skin. There are deep moisturizers for dry/dehydrated skin, there are light moisturizes, essences and serums for oily/acne-prone skin. There’s simply no skincare routine without this step.

For daytime moisturizing, you might be enough with what your SPF cream provides. Pay attention to how your skin feels throughout the day and choose to use this step or go straight to sunscreen application. Like with any other product from your routine, it is best to avoid fragrance and denatured alcohol in your face cream.

Moisturizers For Normal and/or Dry Skin

CeraVe Moisturising Cream

Paula’s Choice Resist Barrier Repair Moisturizer

Cetaphil Crema Hidratantă Față și Corp

The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA

Moisturizers for Oily and/or Combination Skin

Hada Labo Tokyo Skin Plumping Gel Cream

La Roche Posay Toleriane Ultra Crem

Paula’s Choice Calm Restoring Moisturizer Normal to Oily Skin

Step 4: Sunscreen

The best anti-aging product available to everyone is sunscreen. That being said, you may want to look for a product that complies with the following:

It offers broad spectrum protection, meaning both UVA and UVB. UVB is associated with skin burning, while UVA with skin aging. Both types are harmful. Most drugstore sunscreens are broad spectrum nowadays, but it’s good to be extra careful.

It is SPF 30 or higher. No sunscreen provides 100% sun protection, however higher SPF products will protect you better and for longer. The higher the SPF, the less times a day you need to reapply your sunscreen

It does not contain ingredients you know your skin reacts to. This may include fragrance, alcohol, essential oils. You’ll be using this product daily, so make sure you don’t feel any discomfort from it.

Sunscreen application is as important as choosing the right product.

For optimal protection, you need about 1,25 ml for your face (a pea-sized amount for each part of your face), so think well before purchasing an expensive, overhyped sunscreen, and end up using a smaller amount of product. There are plenty of good and affordable choices on the market.

Here are some examples of sunscreen products that work for different types of skin. Keep in mind that your skin is unique and, just like with the other product recommendations, some may work, while some may not work for you. The important thing is to keep an eye out for anything that may cause irritation or any type of discomfort, and in time you will learn to give your skin what it needs.